My view on the Impreza big end failures stays the same:-

1) It happens to cars serviced on the dot, unmodified or modified, drinking the
best oil and pampered by enthusiast owners. Like my 99MY with 56k.
2) People buy knock-links for peace of mind, fine but why should they!
3) The 1.8T VAG engine 'seems' far less stressed or more capable of coping.
4) If you are lucky enough, always Extend the Subaru Warranty.

My MAF was sound, the 02 sensor was replaced after the engine was and I decided to sell at 60k rather than risk running it to high miles - which was my original plan. My Skoda 4x4 has identical power, is a slower from a standstill but as quick in gear but it just 'feels' far less stressed than the Impreza.

Can anyone from an engineering background confirm how much tolerance there is with the flat four compared with a strong conventional engine ???